The Crisp Guy Blog – Leadership, Resilience & Culture

The Stripped Back Journal

This is where I lay it bare. Silence, betrayal, survival, and rebuilding — told as it happened. Not theory. Not Polish. Just real stories stripped back to the truth over the last 37 years as a small business owner.

Tools & Frameworks, Leadership, The Crisp Report Mark Matthews Tools & Frameworks, Leadership, The Crisp Report Mark Matthews

The Crisp Packet Test: How to Have Honest Conversations at Work.

It started with a crisp packet outside my office.
No one picked it up — and that moment changed everything.
I realised culture isn’t built by posters or policies; it’s built by what we tolerate, ignore, or act on when nobody’s watching.
The Crisp Packet Test was born from that moment — a quick, honest way to see how people really think and behave at work. It’s now become my signature tool for leadership, accountability, and rebuilding culture — stripped back and real.

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The Crisp Report, Leadership Mark Matthews The Crisp Report, Leadership Mark Matthews

The Crisp Report – Invisible Strings

Some connections you can see, meetings, messages, handshakes.
Others are invisible. They’re the quiet thoughts, the small choices, the energy that ties one moment to the next.
I wrote this to remind myself and anyone reading, that what we do when nobody’s watching often carries the biggest impact. Those invisible strings hold everything together.

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The Crisp Report, Leadership, culture, Vulnerability Mark Matthews The Crisp Report, Leadership, culture, Vulnerability Mark Matthews

The Fear of Letting People Down

I used to think leadership meant holding it all together. Saying yes when I wanted to say no. Smiling when I was breaking inside.
The truth? I wasn’t leading …. I was performing. Driven by the fear of letting people down.
This is what happens when fear runs the show… and how stepping into honesty changed everything for me, my team, and the way I now lead.

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Leadership, The Crisp Report, AI & Rebuild Mark Matthews Leadership, The Crisp Report, AI & Rebuild Mark Matthews

How AI Helped Me Rebuild My Life — Not My Bank Balance

AI didn’t save my business; it reminded me what it means to be human.
When everything fell apart, I didn’t need automation or growth hacks. I needed clarity, honesty, and a way to rebuild from the inside out.
This is how AI became my unlikely companion, not to boost my bank balance, but to help me reconnect with myself, my story, and the people who truly matter.

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